Land of Mytycaea
by IsebellaLynnette
Summary: Svengal finds a land far to the south of Araluen. Will Treaty and his closest friends are sent to explore and learn more about it, but to do that, they must assimilate to the ways of the new land, find a way to help the natives, and come back home-alive.
1. A New Land

**Land of Mytycaea**

_Chapter One: The New Land_

Summary: Svengal finds a land far to the south of Araluen. Will Treaty and his closest friends are sent to explore and learn more about it, but to do that, they must assimilate to the ways of the new land, find a way to help the natives, and come back home-alive.

* * *

I'm considering making these people less Native American-like and perhaps more modern. I'd like your thoughts and opinions on that, as well as on what you thought of the story as a whole.

A HUGE thank-you goes to MeL (Rowana Renee), who beta-read the story before I actually published it. She really encouraged me to make this story happen, and if it weren't for her, I'd be bored out of my mind right now, as I'm now on summer vacation.

Without further ado-enjoy! :D

* * *

Svengal gazed out over the Endless Ocean. For the thousandth time that day, he asked himself, _What made me leave everything to explore the vast unknown?_

His own countrymen had laughed at him, even Erak. The Oberjarl had considered the matter very serious, but hadn't wanted to endanger his position by opposing the crowd, Svengal supposed. Though that was highly uncharacteristic of him.

The Gallicans had somehow got wind of it and, as he'd sailed past their country, those waiting by the coasts had called out to him, jeered at him, taunted him.

Not even the Rangers Halt and Will Treaty had shown even _remote_ interest in finding a new world! Well, that's what the King had said. And Svengal knew that the King would never lie.

But now, here he was with the rest of _Wolfwind_'s crew, staring out over the vast, empty ocean. What good had their exploring done? The trip had been doomed to failure from the start, Svengal thought bitterly.

Their provisions were nearly out, after over a month of aimless sailing. But they were so far out to sea that the land had simply disappeared more than two weeks ago. If they didn't find any sort of land by the next day, they'd die.

And, on that happy note, Svengal suddenly noticed a faint green line on the horizon.

"Land ho!"

Cheers erupted from all the men, Svengal included.

"We'll be famous now, won't we? We've discovered a new land. Surely this will convince some more people-like those Rangers-to come," one of the crew said.

Svengal ignored the rest of that debate, back at the wheel and looking at the land, looming larger and larger as they moved closer.

Less than two hours later, they'd laid anchor and were surveying the island in front of them.

"Plenty of trees and grass," Svengal commented.

_Thud!_ An arrow slammed into the wood of the wheel.

Svengal jerked his left hand back from it, startled by the sudden appearance and sound announcing its arrival.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing, stranger," a deep voice with more than a bit of menace touching it and a strange, almost indechiperable accent responded. "Now get lost! You don't belong here."

"Why not? Why can't we just take a look around this new land?" Svengal asked scathingly.

An instant later, he wished he hadn't spoken at all.

Svengal felt a searing pain in his chest. Looking down, he realized his suspicions were correct. He hurriedly tore out as much of the arrow as he could, then grabbed a rough cloth hanging on the railing and pressed it to his newest wound.

"I could very easily have poisoned that arrow I just sent at you, and you'd be dead by now," that same dark, threatening voice said now. "So go back to wherever you came from. You aren't welcome here, and you never will be. _Go away!_"

"We're about to run out of food and water, though!" Svengal whined. The thought of having to survive another month on _one_ jug of ale and on _two_ loaves of bread was already tortuous to him-and doubtless the same for his crew.

An exasperated sigh could be heard from the trees. Then, suddenly, many fruits came flying from the trees onto the deck of _Wolfwind_. Svengal gaped at the extreme variety, even if they were _fruits_; their different colors; and the never-before-seen kinds. Even better, he noted with satisfaction at their scent, they were all fresh and juicy.

"Now leave and don't come back!" the voice ordered.

Svengal sighed, then mumbled, "Yes, sir."

They lifted anchor, turned the _Wolfwind_'s hull back towards home, and sailed off.

* * *

"Strangers came today," a tall, blonde girl reported to her mother in their tent.

Her mother glanced up from her weaving basket, surprise written all over her face.

"It's been over thirty years since anyone has come this far south, though!"

The girl nodded grimly. "Perhaps they felt like they wished to explore more of the world. Maybe even try to capture us, or take the land."

"Or both," her mother added. "What were they like?"

The girl wrinkled her nose. "They smelled like horse butt. Looked fat, but muscular. And they had _terrible_ manners. Lightning on Jagged Rock had to use _two_ arrows _and_ give them some of our precious fruit to get rid of them!"

"We have plenty of fruit still, Creek," her mother said calmly. "And much wood left for arrows."

Creek Where Sun Shines made a frustrated gesture with her hands. "I know, Mother, but Lightning warned me that they'll bring _more_ back with them! She could tell!"

Her mother was silent for a long time. Then she stood and called out into the night, "Stone by Fast Stream!"

Moments later, a wizened old man entered the tent.

"Did you hear?" Creek's mother demanded.

Stone by Fast Stream nodded gravely. "I heard enough."

"Well then, what do you think? If they find out that our land is-"

"Enough!" Stone by Fast Stream cut Creek's mother off sternly. "We may be able to welcome them if they are polite and respectful. But we must also take extreme precautions if we invite them on our land so that they have no temptations to learn more than they should."

He stood and nodded to Creek and her mother. "We must let the Nyon'uku Tribe of the Ya'bota Mountains know of this. They will be next in line if our tribe is endangered. Creek, carry on with helping your mother and the other tribe girls. Sun on Gray Mount, have Star in Night Sky ready to leave by dawn tomorrow."

* * *

Will sat back in his chair in Crowley's office and set down the report Crowley, Commandant of the Ranger Corps, had just handed him.

"Huh. So Svengal's found a strange new land far to the south?"

Halt nodded. "That's right. And the King wanted you and me to go. There's...one problem, though."

Halt and Crowley exchanged a glance.

Crowley cleared his throat several times. "The, ah...the Temujai are acting up again."

"Right." Will raised an eyebrow. There was something that Halt and Crowley weren't telling him, he was sure of it. But he decided to play along for now and ask Halt about it later. "So...I'm going...alone?" Now a hint of nervousness touched his voice. (After all, the idea of exploring an unknown land all by himself, not knowing whether he'd even return home, was more than a little daunting.)

"No, no," Halt was quick to reassure him. "Our one and only Champion is coming along, of course. And perhaps another Ranger friend, from Meric Fief? Oh, our Crown Princess, for political reasons and maybe for negotiating, and some famous blonde Courier-our favorite-will be journeying as well."

"Hmm." Will rubbed his chin in mock thoughtfulness. "Let me guess-Horace, Gilan, Evanlyn, and Alyss. Well then, if these islander people get even more violent than they were to poor Svengal, what about bringing some Skandians along?"

Crowley grinned. "Way ahead of you, Will. Erak is too busy as Oberjarl, but Svengal, Gundar Hardstriker, and about fifteen others will meet you just outside the Castle in the ship _Wolfwind._"

"Speaking of _Wolfwind_, looks like she's outside right now," Halt commented dryly, pointing out the window.

"You never told me it was going to be _today!_" Will exclaimed accusingly. He was a little hurt that his former mentor and friend, along with his chief, would trick him like this.

Halt shrugged. "As I told Crowley earlier-you would've agonized over being sent on the mission and moaned about how incompetent you are and, generally speaking, have wasted a whole lot of time."

"But..." Will began. Then he stopped himself. Gilan would be there. Will was a relatively new Ranger. But Gilan knew how to do everything. He'd handle anything out of the ordinary the right way. As for Horace, well, he was amazing with that sword of his, and about the two girls...

Will grinned inwardly. It was growing quite obvious that Horace and Evanlyn were falling for each other. Horace would murder anyone else who tried to touch a single honey-blonde hair on the Princess's head. Much the same, however, he reflected, could be said for him and Alyss. He knew that he'd protect her with every ounce of his strength, even if he himself died from it.

Halt watched his former apprentice closely. The shoulders were more relaxed now than they had been a couple minutes ago, his body wasn't as tense, and there was a faint smile lurking at the corners of his mouth. Halt turned back towards the window to conceal the smile that was spreading across his own face. It'd be Alyss, for sure.

* * *

"Hey, Gil!" Will called cheerfully to the green-cloaked figure sitting astride a familiar bay horse.

"Hey, Will! How are things?" The tall Ranger grinned and threw back the cowl of his cloak.

Abruptly, Will's easygoing expression changed to one of concern and he walked closer to Gilan until they could talk without fear of being overheard.

"Actually, I'm a little worried about Halt. He's...I dunno. More grumpy, and just...well, when I got the briefing for the mission, Crowley said that Halt had to do something about the Temujai, but it was-"

"Obvious that he was lying," Gilan finished for him. "Crowley told me that Halt needed to take care of a huge group of bandits back at Redmont."

The two younger Rangers exchanged a glance, then nodded at the same time. Halt was in for some serious questioning from the two of them. The thing was, would _he_ tell the truth, even if he'd possibly told Crowley not to for their sakes?

* * *

Anyway, any comments and suggestions are welcome! I'd especially like to know what you all think of the actual idea of discovering a new world, and whether the characters were truly in-character. Thank you again, MeL!

And also, if you've read this far, please take the time to review. It doesn't have to be a huge, enormously long one either. Maybe two or three sentences. That's it.

Well, I'll say bye for now, then. Expect Chapter Two, up and running, within the week!


	2. Traitor and a Disappearing Ranger

_Chapter Two: Traitor and a Disappearing Ranger_

Summary: Will and Halt have a fierce little argument, while there is a traitor in the midst of Mytycaea; Horace isn't too happy with his friend for disappearing on them, and two of Mytycaea's natives still don't get along...

* * *

Here it is, chapter two! ^^ It's done a bit earlier than I first told myself. But then, that's all the better for the readers, isn't it? :) (It's also _much_ shorter than I originally planned...I apologize for that)

Thanks goes to MeL, who again beta-read the chapter before I posted it, AND alerted me to a pretty big mistake on my part. ^^; Now that that's over with, please enjoy the second chapter of _Land of Mytycaea_! :)

* * *

"Hey, Halt! Gilan's here," Will told his former mentor.

The grizzled Ranger grunted and took a sip of his coffee, avoiding the cleverly-put invitation to talk.

Gilan tipped his head to one side. "So, Halt, want to tell us why you're staying behind?"

Before Halt could reply, Will burst in, still angry at Halt for tricking him about when he'd start the mission, and also worried about his moodiness, yet a bit mad at Halt for having (supposedly) lied to him and Gilan.

"Why did you tell Crowley to lie to us? Can't you trust us?" Without him realizing it, his voice was getting progressively louder and high-pitched, and his words became a jumble that the older Rangers could barely understand. "Don't you know that we aren't apprentices anymore? D'you think we're stupid, or that we don't care for you?"

"Will..." Gilan moved forward to stop the young man from exploding. _Strange for Will to act like this,_ he thought.

Halt looked at his former apprentices and smiled sadly. Gilan, tall, joking, cheerful; Will, young, optimistic, more like a son to him than a mere servant or apprentice.

"Crowley didn't lie to you two. There _are_ bandits waiting for me back at Redmont. The Temujai _are_ a danger to this side of the world again. Even worse, Hibernia's falling apart yet again, and there's been quite an amount of troublemakers in the northeastern fiefs lately."

"He's not making _you _take care of all of that, is he?" Will demanded sharply. A flame still burned in his brown eyes as he regarded his teacher and friend.

Halt hesitated before answering. "The bandits will be easy enough to take care of. Hopefully, the two senior Rangers Crowley sent to Skandia will help the archers and the sea wolves. Maybe the King can work out the clashing Hibernian kingdoms. And two of the younger Rangers are off with their apprentices to deal with those idiot cults stirring up trouble." He sighed heavily. "But I'll miss you two. I'm not allowed to go off on those other missions for fear that I'll be reckless, or do something that...might not be the wisest choice."

Will looked away for a long time, out towards Redmont. Gilan noted his determined gaze, set stance, and sparkling eyes and thought, _Oh boy. I hope he doesn't hurt himself, doing what he's about to do._

"Right then, I'll be talking to Svengal if you need me," Will muttered, then swung around and walked away from the older two Rangers.

Halt heaved another gusty sigh and put his face in his hands. "Gilan, I'm an idiot."

"Yes, you are," Gilan replied.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Will or Alyss?" Halt asked at the dinner table. "The last I saw of them was just after lunch, when they went for a walk in the woods."

Horace slowly set down the cup he'd been about to drink out of, now worried. "You say they've been out there for five, six hours now?"

Gilan nodded. "I also noticed them go off into the woods. And they still haven't come back!"

The three men jumped to their feet and ran out the dining hall of the Castle to the forest outside.

"Will! Alyss!" they called over and over again. Then Horace was left pacing impatiently at the very outskirts of the forest as Halt and Gilan rode their Ranger horses inside the undergrowth to search for any sign of them.

When the two Rangers finally did come out again, it was not with good news.

"He's gone," Halt choked out. "Blood everywhere!"

Horace was alarmed to see how heavily the grizzled Ranger leaned on Gilan's shoulder and how hollow, how much older they both looked.

"He's gone, and it was all my fault."

* * *

Creek called out to the tanned brunette walking by.

"Lightning!"

Lightning turned. Her dark brown eyes flashed when she saw who had called to her. Without a word she whirled around and walked away towards her parents' tent, head held high.

Creek shook her head sadly. "Things still aren't right between us."

* * *

A figure shrouded in shadow watched from inside the gnarled, tangled mess of tree branches as Lightning walked by. After Creek had also left, they darted out of their hiding place and made for the other end of the forest, the opposite direction that the two girls had gone.

After almost an hour of jumping over tree roots and pushing through twisted branches, the mysterious person reached their destination.

A cloaked figure stepped out from behind a large tent and held his hands open in a welcoming gesture.

"You have come."

The other swallowed and nodded. "Yes. It was easy to elude the other members of my Tribe. Even my own daughter did not notice me hiding in the trees."

"So you _will_ prove useful after all. Very well then!" The cloaked figure clapped his hands and the other was instantly swept into the large tent by ten Tribe girls. Then the cloaked figure continued, "In here we will tell you all that you need to know, mostly about the coming raids..."

The other looked up, their face already lighting up with hope.

"...but also concerning your husband."

* * *

Hundreds of miles north, Will was finding it painfully hard to breathe.

"You idiot, Will! We thought you had _died!_" an angry voice belonging to a beet-red face yelled.

Will gasped and choked, tearing at the iron grip around his throat. After a well-aimed kick, he managed to break free and roll away from danger.

"My god, Horace! You nearly _killed_ me!" he exclaimed after catching his breath. "And it's not like I'm in full health conditions, you know."

Immediately, Horace's anger melted away and changed to concern. "What happened? Are you all right?"

Will grimaced as he held tightly on to Horace's shoulder, gaining his balance. "I got a pretty deep cut on my right side. I'm tired, cold, and hungry after beating up those darned bandits back at Redmont. And I'd really love a nice, warm bed and maybe a hot stew right now."

"Well, come on, then!" Horace half-dragged, half-pulled Will back to the castle's dining hall.

As the two of them came in, everyone else looked up from their meal and gasped.

Halt was the first one to react. He jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over, and ran over to his former apprentice, Gilan following a second behind. They both tackled Will, forcing him to lie flat on his back.

Halt unsheathed his saxe knife. Gilan did the same. There was an ominous quiet in the room as everyone held their breath, waiting to see what would happen to Will.

Halt stared down at his former apprentice, his expression unfathomable as he held his knife ready.

Finally, he threw the knife to one side.

There was a collective sigh of relief in the room, coming from precisely sixty-two mouths. (Well, sixty-four, counting Will and Gilan.)

"Will." Halt paused after he'd said the name. "Son." That was better.

"Don't _ever_ do that to me again, d'you hear me? I swear, _all_ the hairs on my head have turned gray now, all because of you!" he snapped, trying to seem angry but failing miserably as Will smiled and hugged him and Gilan.

Will grinned weakly as Gilan pouted, "What about _me_? Didn't I do half of the job?"

"Ah, that was only the beginning of what I'm going to do to you, Halt," Will said as he was dragged to Castle Araluen's infirmary by his two relieved superiors.

* * *

I like the ending. ^_^ (Well, seeing as I'm the author...XD)

So, did you like it? Like it or not, please review and tell me your opinion and feedback! :D Flames will be used to roast marshmallows and hand them out to reviewers, just as a warning! ^^

Chapter Three will be up by this Wednesday, just to let you guys know. Hope you enjoyed, and again, please review.


End file.
